Scoring Methodology: Discover thedotgood New Rules in 2026
New SGOs Scoring Rules to Be Applied in 2026
All 2026 thedotgood scorings—including for the World Top 200 SGOs, USA Top 100 SGOs, and Brazil Top 100 SGOs—will follow new additional rules related to financial reporting.
Published: January 27, 2026 | Geneva – Switzerland
As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen scoring quality and comparability, thedotgood introduces enhanced Financial Reporting criteria for the 2026 edition of the upcoming rankings.
All 2026 scoring—including the World Top 200 SGOs, USA Top 100 SGOs, and Brazil Top 100 SGOs—will follow the new rules.
From now on, financial transparency will be assessed along three additional distinct dimensions:
- Availability of Financial Statements
- Traceability of Financial Statements’ public disclosure
- Timeliness of Financial Statements’ publication
Each dimension is governed by specific and non-overlapping rules.
Each year, the listings spotlight and support organizations that demonstrate not only innovation but also resilience and long-term sustainability.
Availability of Financial Statements
SGOs are expected to make their Financial Statements publicly accessible.
- When Financial Statements cannot be located for the last two completed fiscal years, a –120 point penalty is applied.
This penalty reflects a fundamental lack of financial transparency and overrides all other Financial Reporting considerations.
Traceability of Public Disclosure
When Financial Statements are available, they must clearly indicate when they were made public.
- Financial Statements must include an introductory page issued by the SGO itself (not solely by the auditing firm), explicitly stating the date of public release.
- When Financial Statements are available but do not disclose a verifiable public release date, a flat –15 point penalty is applied.
In such cases, no delay-based calculation can be performed.
Timeliness of Publication
Delay-based scoring applies only when a verifiable publication date is disclosed.
Bonus for early publication
- SGOs publishing their Financial Statements before April 15, 2026 receive a +20 point bonus.
Penalties for late publication
- When Financial Statements are published more than 180 days after the end of the fiscal year, a –10 point penalty per month of delay is applied.
- This penalty is capped at –60 points.
No inferred or assumed publication dates are used under any circumstances.
Methodological Principle
Delay-based penalties apply exclusively when Financial Statements disclose a verifiable public release date.
In the absence of such a date, delay cannot be assessed and delay-based penalties do not apply.
This principle ensures methodological consistency, auditability, and equal treatment across all SGOs.
Rationale
Timely, accessible, and well-documented financial disclosure is essential to:
- Transparency and accountability,
- Stakeholder trust, and
- Comparability across organizations and jurisdictions.
The 2026 rules are designed to clearly distinguish between:
- Missing disclosure,
- Undocumented disclosure, and
- Late but verifiable disclosure.
Annex — Financial Reporting Scoring Rules (Summary)
| Situation observed | Rule applied | Score impact |
| Financial Statements missing for the last two fiscal years | Availability rule | –120 points |
| Financial Statements available but no publication date disclosed | Traceability rule | –15 points |
| Financial Statements published before April 15, 2026 | Timeliness bonus | +20 points |
| Financial Statements published >180 days after fiscal year-end, with date disclosed | Timeliness penalty | –10 points per month, capped at –60 |
| Financial Statements published on time (≤180 days), with date disclosed | Neutral | 0 points |
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